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@reitsh tstr atrat @ffies JOHN H. COOPER., OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO E. J'- SPANGLER, W. E. LOGKWOOD, AND E. D. LOGKWOOD, 0F SAME PLAGE.

Letters Patent No. 62,939, 'dated Marelli-19, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN ENVELOPE MACHINES.

elle rlgrhule 'infant tu in tigcsc tttcrs patentar mating ima at tige time TO ALL WHOM IT MAY GONCERN:

Bc it known that I, JOHN H. COOPER, -of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Envelope Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to bc a full, clear, 'and-exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to thclctters of reference marked thereon. l

My invention consists of certain mechanism, fullydcscribed hereafter, for making envelopes similar' to those for which Letters Patent of the United States were granted to S. E. Pettce, on the twenty-third day of March, A. D. 1859.

In order to enable others .skilled in the art to make'and use my invention, I will now proceed to describe itsA construction and operation, reference being had to the accompanying drawing, which forms a part of this speciiication, and in which- Figure 'l is a vertical section of suilicient of an envelope machine to illustrate my improvements. Figure 2, a plan view. `Figure 3, a transverse vertical section on the line l 2, iig. 1. Figures 4 and 5, views of detached portions of the machine. Figures G and 7, diagrams'illnstrating my invention; and Figure 8, an invertedyiew et' the cross-head and its knives. Similar letters refer to similar parts throughont'the several views. Two side-frames, A and A', support a table, B, to the under sid'e of which are secured the four ltubular guides a for the rods I), the latter being connected together at the bottom by the plate D, and at the top by 'the Cutter plate or cross-head-E. In an opening in the plate D tnrns a roller, e, which bears upon the periphery of a cam, F, on the driving-shaft G, the latter turning in suitable boxes or bearings en the opposite side-frames. In the cross-head E is an opening, through which projects the outer end of an arm, H, secured to the-table B, this arm carrying two rollers, I I, which bear on rollers .I J, secured to a shaft, which turns in the opposite side-frameis. A pinion, i, loose on this shaft, gears into a whechz', on a shaft, L, which is also adapted to bearings'on the opposite side-frames, and to this pinion is hung a spring-pawl, tr/,arranged to catch against projections, 7', on the shaft K'. On the vshaft L is an arm, c, to' which is connected a pin, fm, rendered adjustable on-the end of an eccentric-rod, n, which embraces the'cceentric M. Two standards, N and N', are secured te the table B, near thc frontend :of the same, and in these standards turns a spindle, t, carrying a roll of paper, which passes downwards in the direction shown by red lines, and between the rollers Pand Q, the latter turning in permanent bearings in the standards N and N', and the former having upper sliding bearings, acted on by two spiral springs, w w, each of which is coiled round a rod contained in a vertical slot in each of the standards N and N', these springs having a tendency to force the upper roller I? against the lower roller Q. After passing between these rollers the paper takes a downward and then azrupward direction, thereby forming a loose fold, as illustrated in fig. 1, and then passes along the surface of the table beneath the bar :11, over the bar and beneath thc bar x", and iinally between the drawing-rollers I and J, where it is acted Vupon by the knives of the cross-head E, in the manner describedhereafter. Two guide plates, of and ri-'are arranged to slide .freely on the barsV x, fc', and x, the, plate e being jointed to the long Aarm of a lever, y, and the plate @"to the long arm of a lever, y. These levers have their fulcra on pins on the table B, andther arms are connected together, thc short arms by the rod 2, and the long arms by the light spiral spring t. The reciprocating motion imparted to the cross-head E is not uniform, for, owing'to the peculiar shape of the cam F, its ascent is much slower than its descent. The movement of the paper over the table' is intermittent, owing'to the intermittent rotary motion imparted to the drawing-rollers I- and J by the eccentric M, arm 7c, shaft L, wheels z' and j, and spring-pawl g, the latter turning the shaft K only when it moves in the direction of the arrow, fig. 5. The extent of the movement of the paper is equal to the length of the strip required to form an envelope, and the stoppage in themovcment of the paper take`s`place during the descent ot' the cross-head. A uniform rota-ry motion is imparted to the roller Q, which, in conjunction with the pressnre-roller I), feeds the proper quantity of paper to the machine; but as the paper traverses"intermittently, owing to the intermittent revolving rollers 'I Aand J, the latter would at times draw the paper fasterthan it is fed by the uniformly revolving feed-rollers I and Q, end this'lwould result in the tearingof the paper but for the loose fold of the same which is permitted to hang down, as seen in iig. l, and from which fold the sudden excess of 4paper demanded by the drawingrollers is furnished, thisexcess, being, however, compensated for by an additional supply of paper to increase the loose fold during the stoppage of the drawing-rollers. It is essential thatthe papershould .traverse the table in a direct central course, for any lateral movement of the paper to one side or the other would result in the formation of imperfect and worthless envelopes, or in the tearing of the paper itself. The normal position ofthe guide plates v and o is such as to direct the paper in its proper central course, whether there be slight inequalities in the width of the strip or not. Should one edge of the paper, for instance, project slightly beyond its proper limit, and crowd against the plate v so as to move the latter outwards, the opposite plate n would have a similar and simultaneous movement, thereby making-way for the paper, which is thus induced to take a central-course, although it mby bc somewhat wider; insome places. than others. These automatic guiding plates constitute an important feature in my invention, for if the central line of the paper does not coincide with the proper central line, of .the course it should traverse, the envelopes wouldbe imperfect and worthless. The arrangement of the knives on the cross-head, and their action on the paper, will be best understood by reference to the, diagram, figs. 6 and 8. On the descent of the cross-head the curved knife 2, figs. 1 and 8, severs the paper on the curved line 2, fig. 6, immediately after which, and during the same descent of the cross-head, the blade 3 strikes the paper on the line 3 and thrustsv it between the folding rolls T and T', by tvhiehthe severed strip of paper is reduced to the condition senin fig. 7, namely, that of an envelope complete, whith the exception of the folding and gumming of the flap.

While the cross-head was descending and performing the above' duties, other knives had made the incisions 4 4 near opposite edges ofthe paper, and the superfluous pieces 7 7 had been cut out, leaving the side pieces 8 8 to be folded down and ypasted prior to the strip being moved forward, and prior to a second descent of the cross-head, during whieh/y the stripprcvionsly eut by the knives issevered, and the severed piece folded as described. l r l 4 A It has been deemed unnece. sary to illustrate or describe the manner of turning down and pasting the side folds 8 8, as devices y,similar to those described inthe patent granted July 10, 1866, to E. J. Spangler, W. E. Lockwood, and E. D. Lockwood, assignees of Robert Parks, may be uspd toadvantage for these purposes. Prior to my invention, machinery had been used for cutting from a continuous strip of paper envelope blanks of the form described, and folded, as set forth, with but partial success, however, owing to the fact that the di'erent cuts in the paper were accomplished by different devices, operated from one source, but so separated from each other that slight inequalities in the paper, or variations in the' same caused by expansion or contraction, or want of unison in the diifcrcnt working parts of the machine, would result in the formation of imperfect blanks and imperfectly folded envelopes. It will be seen that as the cutting and folding blades are arranged only a short distance apart from each other, and on the same cross-head, and perform their respective duties during one and the same movement of the said cross-head, the above objectionable results are avoided.

I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by 'Letters Patcnt- 1. Knives attached to one cross-head or plate E, and so arranged as'ito cut or sever the strip. of paper at several points simultaneously, substantially in the manner'described, during one movement of the said cross-head.

2. The combination ofthe said cross-head, its knives, the blade 3, and folding rollers T and T', so that the paper may be `cut and foldedvduring one movement of the cross-head. p

3. The stationary arm H projecting through an opening in the cross-head E, and carrying rollers I in combination with the rollers J.

4. The combination of the intermittently revolving drawing-rollers I and J with the'continuously revolving feed-rollers I and Q, the whole being arranged to act on the paper as set forth.

5. The system of rods m, :,v, and 1:, arranged for maintaining the paper is contact with the table, and

imparting proper tension to the paper. l p l 6. The guiding plates yv and v', connected together by the system of levers herein described, or the equivalents to 'the same, and arranged for the proper guidance of the paper in n. centi-:1l course, substantially as described. v v Y l In testimony whereof I have signed my naine to this specification in the prese-nce of two subscribing witnesses.

JonN H. Vcoorrr..

Witnesses:

Hl HoWsoN, J. P. DnLANnv. 

